No City For Magic
by NineStoicCrayolas
Summary: Sort of AU. A little Hermione Granger is found running away from a couple of dangerous people. Her only hope-well, it's the Marauders, of course.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

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She ran, her breaths coming in pants, as she skidded towards the train tracks. She could hear the train coming quickly, the whistle of the engine rattling the ground, making her heart thump-a-bump faster and faster as she scrambled, her fingers gripping the edge of the serrated knife.

Her breaths were cool and she could see the clouds of white forming in front of her, the frost in the air burning her fingers and stinging her cheeks, biting at the raw skin around her reddened eyes. A puddle soaked through her ratty shoes, dampening her holed socks, burning at the blisters she'd collected since the moment she scurried away from the detention center.

She could hear the footsteps behind her, shouts and screams coming from somewhere close—most probably the streets surrounding the pubs as they thought she'd always hide there.

 _Stupid fools,_ she thought bitterly, a dangerous smile on her face.

They'd been chasing her around for weeks around London, checking each public park, every washing machine joint, all of the pubs and trashcans, constantly. To be honest, she had gotten amused at first, at their efforts to find her. But the fourth time they'd seen her streaking across a main street she'd started to get quite frankly, pretty frustrated at how dedicated they seemed.

As she rushed to the train tracks ignoring the sting of her knees, the way blood slipped down her cheek and her nails dug into her palms, jagged and torn, she nearly wished she hadn't run away. It had been a long six weeks—a long, long, long six weeks—where she'd been hiding in buses, sneaking food off trolleys and nicking money off of the business men who were too busy to stop at red lights before rushing across an intersection.

"She's close! I _know_ it!" A familiar voice—slimy, gross, and whining—shouted across the streets and she wanted to vomit as the panic threatened to choke her.

 _Wangley._ She thought suddenly, _Wangley's after me._

Her hair, frizzy, unkempt and tangled with dirt, mud and grease trailed after her, brushing her neck irritatingly as she ran for the gleaming black tracks. She's sure that her eyes are wild—whiskey eyes, her mother once told her when she was very, very young—and gleaming in the low light of the day. She knows her mouth is set in a strangled line, her nose working overtime to suck in as much air as possible—if she opens her mouth she will scream—and she spies a fence as she nears the tracks.

"Where is she Wangley—don't fucking tell me you lost her—"

She bit her lip, blood exploding across her tongue as she scrambled the last couple of meters, her feet aching and burning from the running she's been doing. The fence is so close, so, so close and she can feel herself reaching for it, feel herself yearning for the freedom it offered.

" _Fucking hell_! There she is—"She felt the panic escalate, ready to burst at the seams as she finally grasps the fence, "Don't let her get away, she's fucking dangerous!"

With a leap, she pushed herself up the fence, ignoring the rush of her heartbeat, the heat of her fear on her skin, the skidding footsteps that clamored after her, ready to harm. She tugged herself up, pulling her tiny, thin body over the fence, feeling the metal tear into her skin and rake her cheek, blood dripping down her neck, _hot, hot, hot._

Hands grasped her legs and she yowled, kicking them off as hard as she could as she dangled half-way across the fence, the pickets digging into her skin, the rusty metal drilling pointed scars into her stomach.

"Fucking cunt!" Wangley growled and she turned, her eyes flashing, catching a sight of his pasty-white face and stringy brown hair before ramming her foot in his face, enjoying the way his cheek made a sickening crunch sound at the impact.

Wangley screamed and she let a savage grin take over her face as she plummeted down, her arms coming to brace her as she hurtled towards the earth. Her smile disappeared at the _crack, snap, crick_ of her bones and she bit her lip _hard_ as she tried to stop herself from shaking.

 _Get up, get up, get up, get up,_ she willed herself, her eyes smarting as she let out a whimper of shock, pain and agony.

"GET HER!" Wangley roared and suddenly, she was up, fear making her arms ache less, her eyes even wilder as she sprinted towards the tracks.

"FUCKING CUNT!"

She gripped her arms and jumped across the tracks, ignoring the low rumbling that was coming closer as she navigated the maze of the gleaming railroads, intent on getting away from the terrifying man that was bellowing at her. Her teeth caved through her lip, blood travelling down her chin, as she jumped across the tracks again, narrowly missing a hole, landing shakily.

When a steaming, groaning train came screeching closer, the wheels screaming as she made her way determinedly across the tracks ignoring that one false step, one mistake could easily lead to her death.

Her eyes were wide as she held her arms, tears slipping down her cheeks mingling with blood as she caught sight of the approaching train.

"No." She whispered, checking the distance between freedom and the train, "No. No. No."

Horrified, she chanced a look backwards, panic filling her as she realized that Wangley and his sidekick—the greasy, blonde-haired git—Marrawick were climbing up the fence, their shoes getting caught in the too-small holes, Wangley's small beady gray eyes stuck on her in blind hatred.

"Can't go back there." She muttered to herself, remembering the sharp slaps, the testing, _the needles,_ "Can't—no. Can't go back. Can't go back."

She squeezed her eyes shut, taking a deep breath, sucking in her lower lip before opening them.

The train was still a little ways off.

She started to feel herself move, almost as if on autopilot as the screeching pile of metal came closer. Glancing back one more time she grinned— _fuckers,_ she thought savagely—at the pair of men that were still struggling in getting over the fence before concentrating on the jump.

"Come on." She bit the inside of her cheek, drawing more blood, "Come on, come on, come on."

She scrambled towards the tracks, not caring when her knees skimmed the ground, bleeding further down her dirty socks, not caring when her arms ached and her eyesight got blurry with blood. She would _get there._

Letting out a sharp, piercing scream she hurtled across the tracks, feeling the wind behind her as she narrowly missed the front carriage. Her heart was _thump-thump-thumping_ in her chest, her eyes gleaming with exhilaration as she cradled her broken arms, the adrenaline taking away any and all pain.

"I did it!" She screeched, stumbling away from the wishing, swaying carriages lest she get snagged on the end of something sticking, "I did it!"

"WHERE'S THAT CREATURE!" She heard Wangley bellow and then, just as she had stopped excitement gleaming in whiskey eyes, she was off, her knees banging against each other as she stumbled off, ignoring the pain that radiated everywhere, the growling of her stomach and swallowing down the bitter taste of fear.

 _Where would she go now?_ She wondered, _where would she go now that she crossed the tracks?_

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Tell me what you think! I'll continue this soon :) I think it'll be a relatively short fic but hey, let's see where it takes me :)


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